[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 9, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5389-S5391]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           EXPORT-IMPORT BANK

  Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I rise today to speak in support of 
reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank. I am on the floor with the 
Senator from Washington, Senator Cantwell, who has been such a leader 
as head of the small business committee on this issue.
  As I heard the Senator from Maryland talk about the importance of 
student loans to our economy and the importance to our economy for 
having people being able to go out there and get the education and fill 
the jobs today, another piece of this is to make sure those markets are 
available, to make sure our businesses are able to compete 
internationally, both small and big, with companies from across the 
world. This means jobs in America. Exports are critical to the U.S. 
economy, and we need to help our businesses, small and large, boost 
their exports.
  When 95 percent of the world's customers live outside of our borders, 
there is literally a world of opportunity out there for U.S. business. 
It used to be we were just focused on Canada, especially in Minnesota, 
and Mexico, but we know there is a world of opportunity in emerging 
markets in places such as Asia and Africa, for us to finally be making 
things in America and having people buy them in other countries.
  As a Senator, I have been working to boost America's ability to 
compete in the global economy and to open up these markets. That is why 
I strongly support reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank.
  I thank Senator Cantwell for her efforts in leading this fight, and I 
thank leadership on both sides of the banking committee.
  As Senate chair of the Joint Economic Committee, today I am releasing 
a report on ``The Contribution of Exports to Economic Growth and the 
Important Role of the Export-Import Bank.''
  According to one analysis, exports are projected to account for 
almost 40 percent of real U.S. GDP growth over this decade.
  We know we have stabilized the economy in America, but the only way 
we are going to be able to expand it, to add more jobs, to make sure 
people are working at their fullest potential, is to be able to export 
things to other countries with these emerging middle classes in places 
such as India and other countries where we can actually sell our goods.
  This report highlights that the Export-Import Bank plays a crucial 
role in supporting businesses, particularly small businesses, to find 
markets for their products. What does the report show? Well, first it 
shows the economy has expanded for the past 4 years and U.S. exports 
have been the ticket to that growth.
  Last year U.S. exports of goods reached an all-time high, $2.3 
trillion or 13.5 percent of U.S. GDP, an increase of 35 percent since 
2009. Think of the jobs that means in America.
  In 2013, U.S. exports of goods and services were responsible for 11.3 
million jobs, an increase of 1.6 million jobs since 2009.
  Manufacturing and agricultural producers have also been able to 
increase their exports, supporting economic recovery and job growth. In 
the manufacturing sector, nearly 25 percent of production is exported 
and these exports are responsible for about 3 million jobs.
  I see this in Minnesota. In 2013, our goods and services exports rose 
to $20.7 billion, and Minnesota was ranked the fourth largest 
agriculture exporting State in 2012, up from sixth in 2011.
  Do you know what that means in real terms? Our unemployment rate is 
down to 4.5 percent. Our Twin Cities area has the lowest unemployment 
rate of any metropolitan area in the country, and it is very much about 
exports. Companies--not just the big ones, but the small ones--that 
have learned to export and are willing to use the tools to export, 
means using the Export-Import Bank.
  Yet U.S. exporters, as we all know, are competing with foreign 
producers in places such as Germany, France, and China, which are 
backed by their own countries' credit export programs and often receive 
other government subsidies.
  I ask my friends who are slowing down this reauthorization, how can 
we say to our U.S. companies, big and small, that we are going to allow 
60 other countries, including the top 10 exporting countries globally--
that they can have credit export programs but our companies can't have 
them in the United States?
  I will show you what I mean by this report.
  I commend to colleagues the September 2014 Joint Economic Committee 
report, ``The Contribution of Exports to Economic Growth and the 
Important Role of the Export-Import Bank,'' that I referred to earlier.
  On the graph and report in figure 2 we show ``Comparison between U.S. 
and Other Countries' Export Credit Subsidies.''
  What do these numbers show? This number is about ``New medium- and 
long-term official export credit volumes, 2013, billions of U.S. 
dollars.'' It shows that China's medium- and long-term credit export 
volumes are at $45.5 billion.
  That is what we are doing and that is why we see them--as Senator 
Cantwell will discuss--going into markets such as Africa and opening 
those markets up for their companies, because they are willing to help 
them out of their own version of the Export-Import Bank--$45.5 billion 
in China.
  Germany, a very successful economy, is at $22.6 billion in credit 
volume. Where is the United States? We are at $14.5 billion. We are 
above countries such as France, Italy, and Brazil, but we are below 
countries such as China, Germany, and South Korea.
  You can imagine the impact if we got rid of the Export-Import Bank. 
You can imagine--which we cannot allow to happen.
  The Export-Import Bank was first authorized in 1934. It supports U.S. 
businesses by providing financing that the private sector that may be 
unable or unwilling to do at competitive rates. The Export-Import Bank 
does this by providing loans, loan guarantees, and insurance policies 
to increase export opportunities.
  In 2013, as our study shows, the Export-Import Bank supported 
approximately 205,000 U.S. jobs and $37.4 billion in U.S. exports. It 
made 745 new loans and loan guarantees worth $21.8 billion.
  By issuing these loans, loan guarantees, and insurance policies, the 
Export-Import Bank helped provide funding for projects ranging from 
short-term investments to more complex and long-term transactions such 
as transportation and other infrastructure projects.
  The Export-Import Bank also steps in to provide credit to open up 
these new markets such as Africa, as I have focused on. For example, in 
the past 4 years the Export-Import Bank has provided authorization for 
more than $4 billion in support for U.S. export to sub-Saharan Africa, 
yet China is still ahead of us.
  The Export-Import Bank provides support to many industries, 
everything from gas and oil, to space and telecommunications, to 
agribusiness.
  The Export-Import Bank supports U.S. exports to more than 150 
countries, small business. This is what I

[[Page S5390]]

hear all across our State since 114 small Minnesota businesses have 
received financing over the past few years.
  The big businesses tend to have trade exports, right? They have 
exports they want to go to Uruguay or Kazakhstan or somewhere in the 
world. They can have some special person who knows the language and who 
can help them and hire a consultant in the country. How can a small 
business do that? Yet they know their product is going to sell in these 
other countries.
  That is where the Export-Import Bank comes in, because working with 
our foreign commercial service, they are able to get the tools they 
need, small businesses, to compete at the same level as big businesses.
  In August I visited Balzer, an agricultural equipment manufacturer 
based in Mountain Lake, MN, a town of about 2,000 people. Balzer 
currently employs 74 people in Mountain Lake, 74 people out of 2,000. 
It has made a real difference, the Export-Import Bank, for their 
company. Exports are approximately 15 percent of their sales.
  Or how about Superior Industries in Morris. There are 5,000 people in 
that town and 500 people employed at the company. They are now 
exporting, thanks to the Ex-Im Bank, to Canada, Australia, Russia, 
Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil.
  How would they would get into Uruguay? Do we think their small 
community bank--which we love--is going to be able to help them figure 
out Uruguay financing? No.
  That is why we have the Ex-Im Bank. It helps these small businesses 
to make major decisions, to finance major products and major deals, so 
they can actually have jobs in the United States that are providing 
exports to these other countries.
  That is what this is all about. It is critical. We have to 
reauthorize this proven Ex-Im Bank and make sure our exporters are 
competing on a level playing field in a global market.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, I rise to congratulate my colleague, 
cochair of the Joint Economic Committee, for her report on the 
importance of the contribution of exports to our economy and for the 
Export-Import Bank.
  The report she is issuing today has a picture of cargo container 
ships leaving the Port of Miami. I could say that this picture could be 
any number of ports around the United States of America, certainly in 
my State, where one in three jobs is related to trade.
  I very much appreciate the Joint Economic Committee highlighting at 
this point in time how important the export economy is to the U.S. 
economy. My colleague comes from a similar State where we like to say 
we make a lot of great manufactured products--and we are very proud 
they are sold in the international marketplace--but now is no time to 
basically curtail credit agencies' ability to help make those sales a 
reality when we have had fabulous U.S.-made products.
  So I very much appreciate the Joint Economic Committee's release of 
this report. It is showing that our economy--even though we faced this 
very disastrous financial collapse 6 years ago--that report basically 
shows that last week the trade deficit continued to decline. A headline 
just recently said: ``Trade deficit at 6-month low as exports climb.''
  So it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that a growing 
middle class around the globe is an excellent opportunity for us to 
sell U.S. manufactured products. In fact, the middle class is going to 
double over the next 15 years. So that is a great opportunity for us to 
take American-made products and get them into this marketplace.
  In fact, last year American companies exported more goods and 
services--totaling $2.3 trillion in value, 13.5 percent of our gross 
domestic product. So that is a step in the right direction. But that is 
being threatened if Congress does not reauthorize this important credit 
agency to make sure these deals get closed. That is why today we are 
here to make sure that a long-term reauthorization of the Export-Import 
Bank is implemented.
  Now, I know we already have about 240 Members of the House of 
Representatives who are on record saying they support a long-term 
extension of the Export-Import Bank. I know there are many Senators 
here in the Senate who support that. So why is this taking so long? 
Some people are even suggesting that we can do just a 2-month extension 
or a 3-month extension. Well, I can tell you how ridiculous that idea 
is because it does not give any certainty and predictability to 
businesses that are trying to close deals.
  In fact, one business exporter from Texas said:

       The Export-Import Bank is absolutely essential to maintain 
     and grow our businesses. . . . Recent reports on the 
     uncertainty of the Bank's future may have already impacted 
     our bottom line. Our customers need the certainty of export 
     credit to continue many of their sales abroad.

  So this individual Texas company is such a reflection of the fact 
that exports are U.S. jobs. In fact, it is $2.3 trillion in goods and 
services, and 11.3 million jobs in the United States are related to 
exports, many of those in manufactured products.
  So why would we take and risk these kinds of numbers with the 
uncertainty of a credit agency that helps close these deals? With that 
many jobs and that much economic impact at stake, why would we suggest 
that we only want to reauthorize it for a couple of months? I think 
that is a very wrongheaded approach.
  We have heard from many other companies. One from Georgia was able to 
increase its annual sales from roughly $500,000 to over $20 million in 
just a few years and was able to do so with the Export-Import Bank.
  We have 21 days left to get this right and to help our economy 
continue to grow, but we have to do something here in the Senate; and 
that is, pass the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank.
  While we were home in August, we heard many people talk about this 
issue. In fact, I would like to put up a few newspaper headlines that 
we saw around the country. One is from the Roanoke Times, which was an 
editorial that said: ``In our view, small businesses need this.'' They 
called for the reauthorization of the Export-Import Bank. Another 
newspaper, the Wichita Eagle, editorialized in support: ``Reauthorize 
the Ex-Im Bank.'' And the Columbus Dispatch editorialized: ``Ohioans 
benefit from Export-Import bank.''
  So these are just three of the editorials heard all around the 
country that are asking us to reauthorize this important credit agency 
and make sure we are giving small businesses and manufacturers the 
tools it takes to export.
  But my colleague, who is the Joint Economic Committee chair, brought 
up an even more specific point; that is, where are we going to be in 
competition as it relates to China when they are chasing economic 
opportunity all around the globe? In fact, an editorial that was in the 
Chicago Tribune on August 15 said: ``Sub-Saharan Africa's economy is 
growing about 5.4 percent a year--outpacing the global rate of 3.6 
percent . . .'' So here is Africa with lots of economic opportunity. It 
is home to many very fast-growing economies in Angola, Nigeria, and 
Ethiopia. They go on to say: ``The Ex-Im Bank plays a vital niche role 
in the U.S. economy as backstop because commercial banks and other 
financial firms often find ways to say `no' to deals involving selling 
goods in developing countries.'' That is from the Chicago Tribune.
  So newspapers around America get it. This is a key tool for us to 
access new opportunities that are emerging in developing countries. The 
fact is, China is already there, they are selling products, they are 
using their credit agency to help close deals. Why? Because a lot of 
banks are uncomfortable, either with the size of the deal, the lack of 
financial players in those emerging markets, and the inability to get 
these deals closed without the export bank and its assistants.
  Another editorial that was in the Boston Globe actually talked about 
a U.S. company that lost a deal because of our inability to make a 
decision here. A California company ``lost a $57 million contract this 
year because of ideological posturing in Washington.'' It is ``a self-
inflicted economic wound.'' They are talking about a firm that ``lost 
its bid to sell technology'' that was going to be used in the 
Philippines only because the Korean competitor

[[Page S5391]]

could guarantee that their export-import bank would be there.
  That is another example that we are not even waiting right now to 
have the negative impact; we are already having the negative impact 
because we are not getting this done.
  So it is very important we make sure we reauthorize the Export-Import 
Bank. As one company in my State said, the Norwest Ingredients company: 
``Loss of the export insurance provided by EX-IM Bank would be 
devastating to my business . . .,'' that a short-term extension of the 
Export-Import Bank does not provide the certainty that we need to 
finance these deals.
  I think this is so much what we need to be focusing on. I appreciate 
my colleague's contribution from the Joint Economic Committee to this 
report. She talked again about the specifics of what other countries 
are doing.

  This chart shows you the percentage of credit agency resources 
against a country's GDP--how much they are investing in selling their 
products around the globe. So we can see what India, China, France, and 
Germany are doing to basically dwarf what we are doing as far as making 
sure our products are sold around the globe.
  I wish the financial market was there to help close these 
transactions. But just as we have a small business administration that 
helps get financial backers to back small businesses, the Export-Import 
Bank helps U.S. manufacturers sell their products overseas.
  We have too much of a supply chain in the United States of America, 
with manufacturing in aerospace, in agriculture, and in automobiles, to 
give it all away by simply not reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank in 
a timely fashion.
  So I again appreciate the cochair of the Joint Economic Committee in 
the release of a report focusing on why exports are so important to our 
economy.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from South Carolina.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, how much time do we have?
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Republicans have no time remaining. There 
are 3 minutes on the Democratic side.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, I just want to be recognized for the 3 
minutes.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. GRAHAM. Mr. President, one, I want to thank my colleague, Senator 
Klobuchar from Minnesota, of the Joint Economic Committee, for making 
the case on why the Ex-Im Bank is a good government program essential 
to creating jobs in America from export sales.
  Boeing is in South Carolina; they are in Washington. Senator Cantwell 
has been a champion of this issue as long as I have been around. Now 
that Boeing is making 787s in South Carolina, I will just put this on 
the table: 8 out of 10 787s made in South Carolina are Ex-Im financed. 
We are competing in the wide-body market with countries such as France; 
China will be getting in this market. Every competitor of Boeing--GE 
makes gas turbines in Greenville. Most of those are sold in the Mideast 
through Ex-Im financing. Every competitor of these two large companies 
in South Carolina has an Ex-Im Bank.
  So to my colleagues in the House, I think I am a pretty conservative 
guy, but I am also practical. Why in the world would we shut our bank 
down when China is growing their bank? The Chinese would support 
closing the Ex-Im Bank in America; so would the French; so would the 
Canadians; so would the British. If you really want to give the 
American economy a kick in the wrong place, shut our bank down and 
allow the other countries that compete with us to keep theirs open.
  There is plenty of waste in the government. So we pick one program 
that is small in number, in terms of actual volume that makes money for 
the Treasury and creates hundreds of thousands of job opportunities. 
This is smart conservatism? This is what conservatism has come to be, 
that you take a program--that allows American companies to compete in 
the international market, that makes money for the American taxpayer--
and you shut it down just to prove to people you are ideologically 
pure? That is not conservatism. That is crazy, and we are not going to 
let it happen.
  To my Democratic friends, we should have reauthorized this a long 
time ago in a process befitting the Senate. There is well over half of 
my conference ready to vote for reforms on the Ex-Im Bank, but we are 
not doing anything in this body, and you are not going to pick our 
amendments. So there is plenty of blame to go around.
  I hope we are smart enough as a House and a Senate to get this right, 
not to shut down the Ex-Im Bank that makes money for the taxpayer, 
creates thousands of American jobs, for some ideological reason 
disconnected with reality.
  China would love this. France would love this. When it comes to my 
State, it would be devastating to the small businesses that benefit 
from Ex-Im financing. If you can close their banks down, count me in, 
we will close ours. But I will be damned if we are going to close ours 
when they have theirs up and running to put people out of work in my 
State and all over this country when you are talking about the best-
paying jobs in America.
  I look forward to a further discussion on this topic.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. All time for debate has expired.

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